A howling good time in Chicago

In "Who Framed Roger Rabbit", Donald and Daffy challenge
each other to a piano duel.  Image credit here.

At the western end of 42nd Street in New York, just before you get your feet wet in the Hudson River, there's a little place called Tobacco Road.  It won Best Dive Bar in 2011, and deserved the accolade for sure.  A former bikini bar, Tobacco Road would never win prizes for its decor but it was here that I discovered Shake, Rattle and Roll - New York's fun and silly Dueling Pianos show.  They've since taken their act on the road, moving the pianos down to the cool Tribeca neighbourhood, but that's just geography really. Shake, Rattle and Roll is still the good-time evening out, where you're entertained by super-talented musicians who enjoy sharing good laughs, music, and drinks with a likeminded audience.

I didn't just randomly wander into Tobacco Road that night though.  My interest in the musical craziness that is Duelling Pianos actually began years before, in Chicago.  So just recently, when I was back there with my parents, I took them to where my rowdy, beer-fueled musical education began - Howl At The Moon, on West Hubbard Street, just off Michigan Avenue.

I have never seen a Dueling Pianos show in Australia (maybe we don't have it) so I had to give Mum and Dad the heads up on what to expect.  In Dueling Pianos, there are two pianos up on stage, facing each other.  The pianists take it in turns to play songs that the audience has requested (you do this by writing down your song request on a small piece of paper, and leaving it on the top of one of the pianos).  Adding a few dollars on top of each request helps ensure that your song works its way to the top of the playlist.  If one pianist starts playing a song you don't particularly like, or if you'd just rather hear a different song altogether, you can put some more money on the opposite piano and the other pianist may well start playing your song, basically cutting off the first song.  The duel is on, and it's like musical warfare!  Things can get pretty feisty, and dollar bills and song requests fly back and forth, but the crowd really gets into the spirit and the sing-a-longs alone are worth it.

We showed up at Howl At The Moon on a really frosty Sunday evening and there wasn't much of a crowd at all.  Cover charge wouldn't kick in until later, so we got in for free and we settled down to the business of beer-drinking and brainstorming our song list.  Before long, the small but enthusiastic collection of music fans in the room had started to warm up and we had pulled together a fairly impressive list of diverse requests.

Obviously this wasn't the first time my parents had been exposed to the depths of musical talent in Chicago. After all, we'd hit up Buddy Guy's Legends Bar on Friday night, and The Gospel Brunch at the House of Blues that Sunday morning (where I had been years ago).  As a result of all this, my parents had come to expect big things from Chicago musicians.  But I don't think any of us really anticipated just how talented the Howl At The Moon artists were going to be that night.  Just when you start admiring how well they play the piano, they switched around to accompany each other on drums, or even the guitar, and they were equally brilliant at everything they touched.  From Michael Jackson to AC/DC, and Sir Mix-A-Lot to Van Morrison, the artists managed everything we threw at them, and all without sheet music!  How?  Incredible.

Whether you get to Howl At The Moon in Chicago, or you visit Shake, Rattle, and Roll in New York, you're bound to enjoy Dueling Pianos.  Amazing musicians play the songs you want to hear, while you sing and dance along with a noisy crowd of fun people.  What's not to like about that?!

Midtown is alive with the sound of music

Image credit here

A stone's throw from Carnegie Hall, and just off the lobby of the Le Parker Meridien hotel in New York you'll find Klavierhaus Recital Hall, a recording studio and concert space.

The Recital Hall is actually affiliated with Klavierhaus Corporation, which maintains an amazing collection of antique, hand-crafted and restored concert pianos - including famous names like Hamburg, Steinway, and Fazioli.  Some of the Klavierhaus collection is now at Carnegie Hall, in Lincoln Center, and even at the White House - but you can see their full inventory here.

The Recital Hall itself isn't flashy from the outside - if you didn't know it was there, you'd easily walk past it.  But it seats about 70 people and its unique design, from the caramel-coloured floorboards to the minimalist decor, ensures that sound fills the entire space.

I was fortunate to come to the Recital Hall yesterday to marvel at the talents of my colleague Peter, his wife Hilda, and their friend Tim, who played a free concert arranged for clarinet, piano, and cello.  The carefully-curated concert was an excellent opportunity for all three instruments - and all three musicians - to shine.

When I asked him afterwards, Peter indicated he most enjoyed playing the first work - by Jeanne-Louise Farrenc.  In fact, Farrenc was the only composer on the program whose name was unfamiliar to me.  Born in France in 1804, Farrenc came from a family of sculptors, and while she was a prolific composer during her lifetime, she did not compose for opera - which was definitely the popular thing to do (certainly if you wanted to make any money).  As a result, Farrenc has enjoyed posthumous fame for her instrumental compositions and chamber music.  I sat in the front row for the concert, so I didn't take any photos - but if you are curious about Ferranc's work, and the piece that Peter particularly enjoyed playing, click here for a video of Canada's Amici Chamber Ensemble playing it.  You will see what I mean about it being a beautiful piece to showcase all three instruments.

After Farrenc, Peter took a break from his clarinet duties so Hilda and Tim could play a four-minute piece by Sergei Rachmaninoff.  Being more familiar with the Russian composer's work, I was expecting Hilda's fingers to go flying off the keys, but Romance in D major, Op4 No3 was, for the most part, a dream-like, relaxed piece and a great duet.

To close the program, Peter took the stage again and the trio collaborated on a Mikhail Glinka pice called Trio Pathetique in D Minor.  Glinka is perhaps most famous for being the first Russian composer to gain wide notoriety in his own country.  This particular piece is most often played by clarinet, piano, and bassoon - but of course I only know this after having poked around the internet a bit.  During the concert yesterday, the cello seemed like the perfect instrument to join in; they all fit together seamlessly.  And in THIS piece, I reckon Hilda played all 88 keys on that piano - her fingers were literally dancing across the keyboard; it was really great.

I suspect that little Recital Halls like the Klavierhaus are dotted all around New York, but my enjoyment of them is always maximised when I can celebrate the talents of people I know up there on stage.  Encore!

Cruise with me, baby

I know at times I can be Billy Joel's Uptown Girl, but I also have to confess that every so often, there is something special about escaping New York City to spend the day with Mother Nature.

At 42^nd Street and the Hudson River, you’ll find the dock for Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises.  The company’s fleet offer cruises around Manhattan that vary in duration, and they even have a speedboat called “The Beast” which I suspect is for people much braver than me.

Inspired by the Circle Line's own blog  I took a cruise with the company on Sunday, but mine was a special seasonal adventure.  It took me on a direct journey up the Hudson River to Bear Mountain State Park, which is home to 50 hiking trails, stunning fall foliage, and a fantastic Oktoberfest celebration.

We set off at 9am on Sunday in crystal clear conditions, and as we put-putted up the Hudson River our tour guide pointed out the significant sites along the Manhattan shoreline (including the Cloisters, The Little Red Lighthouse, and the Tappan Zee Bridge – and trust me, these are all future ABCs of NYC adventures).  I have to confess, my attention was repeatedly drawn to the shores of New Jersey on the other side of the river, where there is less infrastructure, and where the fall foliage had definitely taken hold.  Such beautiful colours and gorgeous houses built right into the hillsides.

Arriving at Bear Mountain I was really happy to spot this beautiful yellow tree from the boat; a wonderful omen of the autumnal colours to come.  It had rained all the day before, so I was a bit nervous that the terrain would be slippery but we had no trouble at all.  We hiked up a couple of gentle hills and in less than 15 minutes we walked into the parking lot of the Bear Mountain Inn.  It was exactly the sort of Mountain Man architecture you'd expect to see in a State Park - so much wood, so rugged and unspoilt.  I just loved it!

Bear Mountain got its name because in profile, it apparently looks like a big bear laying down.  The Park hosts about 3 million visitors per year and in fine weather, the place is perfect for hiking (the first section of the Appalachian Trail is up there), but you can also have picnics, row boats, and swim.  There is also a zoo on the site, which actually started as a bear den, but now it hosts a rehabilitation center for a range of injured wildlife.  Come wintertime though, and the ski fields and ice skating rinks are wonderful drawcards for cold weather fans.

On our sunny Sunday visit, the Bear Mountain Inn was doing a fairly quiet trade compared with the raging Oktoberfest happening outside.  So of course, we wandered over to join in the fun.  How relaxing it was to enjoy a bratwurst, with sauerkraut and mustard washed down with an icy cold beer while staring out at a calm lake and the leaves on the trees starting to change into their rust and gold colours.  The trees probably have another week or so to be at their peak of fall brilliance, but they are already looking really beautiful.

So many families had come to the free Oktoberfest celebration and were also enjoying a lake-side picnic in the sunshine.  It was easy to fall into relaxed conversation with the people next to you.  Nobody was in a particular rush to be anywhere, or to do anything in particular.  Manhattan really did feel like half a world away, but I didn't miss the skyscrapers once.

As the afternoon wore on, a polka band entertained the hardcore party people, as lines for the waffles and beer coiled like the giant German pretzels that were also on sale.  I was almost dragged into an impromptu conga line at one stage, but I stood my ground and declined to lose my place in the beer queue.  Watching people do the chicken dance never gets old though, does it?

We all had to be back at the boat for a 3.20pm departure and I am pretty sure we didn’t leave any passengers behind.  Compared with the exuberance of the morning, our boat ride back to Manhattan was much more subdued affair, and I don’t mind admitting that I snoozed for part of the journey.  But fortunately I woke up in time to capture some photographs of the beautiful Manhattan skyline in the fading daylight.  I don’t think I’ll ever tire of those views.

Winter is definitely on its way and we won’t have many more sunny Sundays this year, so I was really glad I could take advantage of this one.  I got to visit a beautiful part of New York State, and peep at the leaves in this beautiful part of the world. 

If you’re coming to New York I would definitely recommend a cruise with Circle Line Sightseeing, but particularly the seasonal Oktoberfest adventure to Bear Mountain.  It’s such a stress-free way to get out of the City for a day and do something a little different with your time here.